O InnovPlantProtect (InPP) promotes the seminar “Six years of innovation: The path of CoLABs for the future of the agricultural and agri-food sectors”, on the next day June 11th, from 09h30 until 11h00, in center stage at Espaço InsectERA, located in the Central Cloisters of the National Center for Agricultural Exhibitions and Markets (CNEMA) in Santarém.
The seminar aims to present the practical results and real impact of six Collaborative Laboratories (CoLABs) in Portugal - InnovPlantProtect, Colab4Food, FeedInov, Food4Sustainability, MORE and SmartFarmCoLAB. These interface infrastructures are essential pillars of the National Innovation System (SNI) and play a growing and essential role in the dynamics of innovation for agriculture and agri-food.
The event will be attended by members of the teams and partners of each of the CoLABs, who will talk about their vision of the added value of these interface and innovation entities, from the point of view of those who collaborate directly with them.
The initiative, which is part of the National Agriculture Fair (FNA) 2025, which this year has the theme “Biosolutions” and will be the stage for exploring the innovations that are shaping the future of the sector, brings together different representatives of the innovation ecosystem to show the role of CoLABs in stimulating the transfer of knowledge and making innovation available to agriculture and agri-food in Portugal, creating value and attracting highly qualified human resources to the country.
See the full program in the image below.
The registration for the event is free, but mandatory due to the limited capacity of the space. Guarantee your presence by filling in the available form here.
We look forward to welcoming you for a morning of sharing and debate on the future of innovation in the agricultural and agri-food sectors!
Estamos em contagem decrescente para a Feira Nacional de Agricultura (FNA), uma das maiores feiras agrícolas do país!
É já de 7 a 15 de junho que o InPP vai estar na 61ª edição da Feira Nacional de Agricultura, que se realiza no CNEMA – Centro Nacional de Exposições, em Santarém.
O tema da edição deste ano é “Biosoluções”e pretende destacar a importância das soluções e tecnologias inovadoras no setor agroalimentar e na promoção de práticas mais sustentáveis e eficientes.
A FNA reúne agricultores, empresários e especialistas dos setores agroalimentar, pecuário e agrícola e é um excelente espaço para aumentar a nossa rede de contactos, trocar conhecimentos e apresentar as mais recentes tendências e soluções agrícolas que a nossa equipa tem desenvolvido.
Vai poder encontrar-nos no stand nº.18, à entrada do Espaço dos claustros, dedicado à Agenda InsectERA, entre as 10h e as 20h.
InnovPlantProtect (InPP) took part in the National Olive Growing Fair (FNO 25) in Campo Maior, from May 23 to 25, presenting its latest biological and digital innovations for crop protection, including projects focused on biopesticides for olive diseases and early detection of fungi that cause gafa, and monitoring insect vectors of the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, which attacks olive groves. The Elvas CoLAB was present with its own stand to demonstrate its strengths and the impact of its research on agricultural sustainability, inviting producers, technicians and researchers to learn about its innovative bio-based and digital solutions and to actively participate in the discussion of the sector's challenges.
The collaborative laboratory (CoLAB) welcomed visitors at the stand no. 14, located at thematic area at the Campo Maior Municipal Garden, to showcase their activity, the ongoing projects that are developing solutions to the main olive diseases, the patents already submitted, the apps for agricultural management and the bio-based and digital products and services they have to offer the agricultural sector and the market. Throughout the three days of the fair, some of InPP's researchers were at the stand to demonstrate to visitors the various features of the Elvas CoLAB, which has been developing innovation that it hopes will contribute to the sustainability of agricultural systems.
InPP announced ValorCannBio project, which is processing biomass that is not used in the medical cannabis industry to develop effective and sustainable biopesticides against gafa and tuberculosis, The project will be carried out in the municipality of Elvas, which is responsible for decimating entire harvests, leading to severe economic losses and compromising food quality. The impact of this project will be felt in the municipality of Elvas, where the project is being developed, but it is expected that it will extend to the entire olive-growing region from Trás-os-Montes to the Algarve, where production losses are increasing due to these diseases. O AlViGen project was also one of the protagonists and is using cutting-edge technology to detecting and identifying the strains of fungi that cause gafa, long before the symptoms become visible. The project team has used traps to collect spores that circulate in the air to monitor the presence of fungi, which can give farmers an important advantage in preventing infections and protecting their crops, reducing production losses.
O SNM_XylellaVt project, The SNM_XylellaVt project, led by DRAPCENTRO and in which InPP actively participates, was also highlighted at FNO. SNM_XylellaVt is monitor the insect vectors of the bacteria Xyllela fastidiosa, in particular the foam leafhopper, the insect responsible for transmitting the bacterium, which attacks various agricultural and forestry crops, and in particular olive groves. The project team is developing new tools, such as risk prediction models which, in the presence of the bacterium, whether in plants or insect vectors, will allow the National Agricultural Warning Service (SNAA) to alert, in real time, about the economic attack levels (EAL) for these insects, thus allowing prevent infection of the main crops. As part of this project, the team has also developed an online platform where citizens can report the sighting of foams, which are signs of the presence of the insect vectors of X. fastidiosa, This will help to map its temporal and spatial distribution and to plan measures to combat this bacterium.
The FNO, organized jointly by the Campo Maior City Council and the Centre for the Study and Promotion of Olive Oil in the Alentejo (CEPAAL), is an event that aims to enhance national olive growing, and in particular Portuguese olive oil, boosting the local economy and bringing together professionals from the sector - producers, technicians, or researchers - from all over the country to discuss challenges and trends in the Portuguese olive and olive oil sector.
O pedipaper, The event, which is aimed at three 10th grade classes from the D. Sancho II School, takes place between 8.30am and 1pm. In the afternoon, the drawing meeting promoted by AIAR will take place, starting at 6pm. The aim of the pedipaper is to allow the students, who are studying biodiversity this year, to explore, identify and marvel at the different trees in the Garden - the largest green space in the city - and their differentiating characteristics.
As a result of this activity, InPP, Escola Secundária D. Sancho II, AIAR and CME intend to continue collaborating with a view to developing a physical identification system for the Garden's trees based on a QR code that will allow mobile access to a “digital brochure” with more information.
Plant Fascination Day is an initiative of the European Plant Science Organization (EPSO), which takes place every two years on May 18th. It is coordinated at national level by the Portuguese Society of Plant Physiology and by the ITQB NOVA, with events across the country.
What is natural about the plants we eat? If it weren't for man's intervention in nature, would we have the variability we have today? Would bananas, avocados, carrots and grapes have anything to eat or were they just seeds? These and many other questions will be answered in the debate “Do the plants we eat really come from nature?”, which will take place online on May 18 at 6pm to celebrate Plant Fascination Day.
“Do the plants we eat really come from nature?” is the theme of the online debate that ITQB NOVA, CiB, Anseme, iBET, GREEN-IT e InnovPlantProtect will take place on May 18, International Day for the Fascination of Plants, at 6 p.m.
Whether they're edible, ornamental or have medicinal properties, plants are always fascinating. But have the plants we know always been like this? Or has our intervention in nature led to the diversity we have today? And, after all, do we have more or less biodiversity to celebrate today?
The truth is that the plants we eat are a positive construction of the human species. If the plants that nature has given us hadn't been actively manipulated by man over the millennia, they wouldn't be enough to feed us. Instead of ears full of corn kernels, we'd have teosinto. Instead of full-bodied orange carrots rich in beta-carotenes, we'd have thin, whitish roots. Watermelons, bananas, grapes and avocados would have more seeds than pulp. And the tomato wouldn't have the variability of colors, flavors and properties that it has today. It was the activity of the human species that led to what we eat today. And we did so in order to develop plant varieties that would produce seeds or fruit suitable for our diet and that would guarantee us food security and diversity.
With the aim of uncovering what is, after all, “natural” about the plants we eat, the event will feature an initial presentation by plant biology researcher Pedro Fevereiro, which will include comparative images of ‘Before’ & ’Now’ plants, followed by a debate moderated by Luís Ribeiro, a journalist from the magazine Vision specializing in the environment and sustainability, with the participation of Pedro Fevereiro, farmer Gabriela Cruz, nutritionist Conceição Calhau, and chef and gastronome José Maria Moreira.
Anyone who wants to celebrate the fascinating world of the plants we eat should join the live event, from 6pm (GMT+1). No prior registration is required.
Fascination of Plants Day takes place every two years on May 18th. In addition to this event, there are other activitiesAn online workshop, a virtual exhibition and a guided tour are some of the activities to celebrate the fascinating world of plants.
The Fascination of Plants Day is an initiative coordinated at national level by the Portuguese Society of Plant Physiology and ITQB NOVA, with activities taking place throughout the country
It was on a beautiful sunny Thursday that a team from the New Biopesticides Department, involved in the XfSTOP project, went to Herdade do Álamo de Cima, belonging to the Eugénio de Almeida Foundation, near Évora, and returned with a car full of olive and almond branches.
And it wasn't, of course, for the pleasure of pruning trees. The aim was to collect samples of two crops that are very important to the local agricultural economy, and which are targets of the nefarious bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, for which InnovPlantProtect intends to develop a new biopesticide.
The researchers collected samples from four varieties of olive tree - Cobrançosa, Arbequina, Galega and Picual - and four varieties of almond tree - Solena, Guara, Belona and Avijor. This work will make it possible to isolate bacterial endophytes common to olive and almond trees.
The following day, Friday, the team processed the samples. They began by cutting branches about 15-20 cm long, removing the bark, disinfecting the outside of the branch to eliminate epiphytic microorganisms and macerating the xylem vessels with a buffer solution. This solution is then filtered through special bags, diluted, plated on culture medium and placed in an incubator at 30 ºC for around 15 days. Throughout this period, the appearance of colonies is monitored.
From the almond grove (and the olive grove)... to the laboratory.
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